]]>2825Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:15:46 +0000Read A Book!http://ironstrong.org/topic/2808-read-a-book/Like several others on this forum, I got started lifting doing Stronglifts. You have to start somewhere and for better or worse that's where it was for me. And I really bought into it--spent all my time on the forums, read every article, wrote a recommendation for the ebook, etc. etc. And I feel like I owe something to Stronglifts since I certainly wouldn't be where I'm at today (with respect to lifting) without it. However, I can't speak for everyone, but I know I picked up some bad habits there in the beginnings of my lifting career. One of which was ebooks.

I have ebooks, usually bought for between $20-40. I have ebooks I've never read. I have ebooks with some useful information. I have ebooks sold in physical form with professional looking covers and binding. I have binders full of ebooks!

Whats wrong with ebooks? Well, last night my wife and I attended a Pampered Chef party disguised as a 'make some salads-in-a-jar' party. My options were to stay home with the kids, or attend and get to take home a few salads to eat later. There's always room for more veggies in my diet, so I figured I'd give it a shot. We were joined there by three gals whom we'd never met before, and from the conversation, sounded like they had little to no cooking experience. In order to prepare the ingredients for these salads we were given an array of task-specific devices, all of which would make salad creation easy enough that anyone could do it! And these girls just ate it up. Meanwhile, I'm thinking just give me a knife and a cutting board and I can do this in less time and with 90% less dishes to wash afterwards. But for those with no experience, a $20-40 tool might seem like the key to making cooking delicious foods something that can be achieved. I feel that most ebooks offer the same false hope.

BUT! You have to start somewhere right? And for a beginner, SL 5x5 V9.03 ebook will help, but like an avocado slicer, maybe there's a better option (a chef's knife). As in cooking, you become a better lifter through practice. It's the guiding tools along the way that make sure you are practicing the right things, learning useful skills, and not handicapping yourself in the long term.

So what's the solution? Read a mother fucking book! Like a real hardcover 383 page book. The best part is, it's the same price as an ebook, just vastly superior as a source of information. Gross consumption is not the path to mastery. My piles of ebooks, virtual and physical, are not worth what I paid for them. Remember school? That place where the whole point was to learn things? Books, instruction, practice. Clif Notes might get you a good grade, but they did not help you understand.

I think part of the problem is being introduced to a subject online. It was only natural for me to continue seeking information online since that's where I started. Nowadays when nearly anything you could want to know is just a click away, it's easy to forget how to go deeper than that first layer of knowledge. The world of blogs, online articles, and ebooks will get anyone started on nearly any topic, but for true mastery I feel that a more academic approach is necessary.

Are there any other book readers out there? What are your recommendations? I have three right off the bat that I have read and would recommend to others:

]]>370Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:58:29 +0000Pursuing Better, Not Besthttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2735-pursuing-better-not-best/In the food for thought category, inspired in part by Greg Nuckol's "Art of Lifting" and in part by my recent Strongman competition. It's a topic that our own LSG has harped on more than once ("optimal use of the word optimal").

There's a lot of talk about the best technique, the best program, the best diet, the best advice. And it all boils down to the fear of wasting time and effort doing something clearly wrong. But there's something that was undeniable about the Capital Classic: a lot of people were doing things "wrong" and lifting way more than me. I even saw one guy power clean a log and then go on and press it. How do you even do that?

There's eternal debate about butt wink, sinking hips, wasted effort, etc. My little epiphany is that none of that matters. I was already there with butt wink, and a few other things. The bottom line is strong is strong. Small improvements over time add up to big improvements. Both in your personal form and technique, and in the way you train.

Even my approach to preparing for my competition had flaws, but for the most part it worked. I got my strength back to where it needed to be. I managed to do events I never even attempted before the competition. I have glaring weaknesses that need to be resolved. But at the end of the day I managed to do better than I expected and push myself harder than I ever have in the past. In my book that's better.

I tried a few different variations of deadlift, and found that the way Brandon Lilly describes his set up seems to work better for me than the others I've tried. Is it the best for me? I don't know. How could I know? I know if something is better than something else, but there's no way to know what's best. More than likely what's best today probably won't be in a year from now due to changes in my strength and other relative strengths and weaknesses. My hips drop before I initiate the pull. I think some people call it "sinking hips". I call it "engaging my lats". When I engage my lats, it pulls my whole body closer to the bar and my hips get lower. When I'm one tight ball, I pull. My hips move a little bit before the bar breaks the ground, but my chest stays up and less stress goes to my lower back. In fact it takes longer sets to force that to happen.

My press is a mess. Thanks to feedback and pointers I've been able to find better ways of performing the lift. I'm still weak, but I'm getting better.

So, how about you? While there are clearly wrong ways of performing a lift, is there any one true and right way? If so, why do you think that, and what is that One True WayTM? How do you personally discover what works better for you? Do you have a consistent approach?

]]>2735Mon, 08 Jun 2015 22:43:19 +0000Music To Lift To For Guys Who Think Modern Metal Is Just Noisehttp://ironstrong.org/topic/1388-music-to-lift-to-for-guys-who-think-modern-metal-is-just-noise/Unfortunately, I don't have tattoos, an epic beard, a 2-ply suit and I don't use chalk because it's icky. I don't need to feel angry to lift, I just do it out of joy. German guys screaming random lyrics about shitting on a girls' chest, I find, don't motivate me.

"Fatigue is a Brain-Derived Emotion that Regulates the Exercise Behavior to Ensure the Protection of Whole Body Homeostasis

This article traces the evolution of our modern understanding of how the CNS regulates exercise specifically to insure that each exercise bout terminates whilst homeostasis is retained in all bodily systems. The brain uses the symptoms of fatigue as key regulators to insure that the exercise is completed before harm develops. These sensations of fatigue are unique to each individual and are illusionary since their generation is largely independent of the real biological state of the athlete at the time they develop."

]]>2618Sat, 26 Jul 2014 18:10:32 +00002013 - Your Best Lifts / Achievementshttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2436-2013-your-best-lifts-achievements/So coming towards the end of another year how did you get on during 2013.

Doesn't have to be lifts as such, could be weight loss or a bulk transformation too.

I didn't do a hell of a lot strength wise.

Best lifts were:

Deadlift 235kg/518lb x5

Bench 140kg/308lb 3x5

]]>2436Wed, 04 Dec 2013 17:59:54 +0000Post Really Useful Articles Herehttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2319-post-really-useful-articles-here/A recent Greg Nuckols article spoke about all the bashing in the fitness/strength industries that just isn't helpful. A number of us on this site have a main focus, but occasionally cross-train. We have Oly lifters, Strongmen, Powerlifters, Crossfitters?, and physique lifters. They all have something to lend.

Post articles that have helped your training, fix your form, or dial in your programming. Refrain from articles that make sweeping generalizations and denigrate a population of trainees.

]]>2286Sat, 07 Sep 2013 11:09:37 +0000Is This What Effort Looks Like?http://ironstrong.org/topic/2221-is-this-what-effort-looks-like/I competed last Sunday... I dislocated my shoulder on the barrel run but the wife (a Nurse) popped it back in and I carried on did the deadlift event. I put in 4 reps but couldn't quite carry on with blood spilling from my nose.

]]>2296Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:56:24 +0000Funny Posts And Replieshttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2242-funny-posts-and-replies/I thought it would be fun to have a thread collating all those funny retorts and banter that goes on in the various logs on here, because after all we don't all follow each log, so this way we get to see stuff we may have otherwise missed.

I will post with what has to be my favourite on here so far...with a question by Vlad and a response from (safe to say I think) resident comedian MarkG. Genuinely spat my drink out laughing at this - and still laughing now every time I read it.

Nice session, Steve. How close is your close grip on the bench press?

I like to grip the bar so close that I'm actually touching it.

Enjoy

]]>2242Wed, 14 Aug 2013 19:47:48 +0000I Feel Different Without Music/noise/voices.http://ironstrong.org/topic/2252-i-feel-different-without-musicnoisevoices/So i've noticed that i feel different when i'm not listening to music, or noise in general ,such as youtube videos. I first noticed this when i was in the gym and i was getting dependent on music for motivation. Sense then, i stopped listening to music when working out and it has done good, it seems.

But i still find myself feeling alone, and lonely when not listening to music and or watching people talk on videos.

I think i've just gotten attached to this and the more i talk to actual people, the more this problem will go away.

Any thoughts on the subject? I don't really have a question, because i think i know the solution, but i just like having an outside perspective .

]]>2252Thu, 22 Aug 2013 23:52:18 +0000My First Competition - A Few Questionshttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2194-my-first-competition-a-few-questions/Hello, I'm competing in my first meet in ten days and have a few questions for those of you who've done this before. Hope these don't come across as too ridiculous . . .

*WARMING UP - How much do you warm up once you get to the site? Do you do your usual number of warmup sets for each lift or shorter versions? And how heavy do you go?

*SHIN GUARDS - i've been using a couple of plastic soda bottles cut in half. I put them under my knee socks. I can't see anything in the rules saying that kind of thing isn't allowed, but I was wondering if anybody's seen/heard problems with that kind of thing.

*T-SHIRT - Do you wear a t-shirt over your singlet when squatting? I just got my singlet and realized I'll be squatting with a bar on my bare shoulders, which I'm not used to.

*NECK CHAIN - I wear a silver chain and religious pendant thing around my neck all the time, even when lifting. Will they make me take it off?

Any other tips anyone has will be gratefully received. I'll do a full writeup afterward. I'm really excited just for the chance to meet other flesh-and-blood lifters and learn new stuff.

Doesn't matter which movement, post a new PR in this thread to help motivate the Ironstrong Brotherhood and Sisterhood!

Edit: All rep PR's count, doesn't have to be 1 rep efforts!

]]>1202Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:17:03 +0000Database For Members' Liftshttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2159-database-for-members-lifts/Following on from the application used to tabulate the results of the last two ISPL competitions, I've now expanded it so that you can save a history of your three-lift powerlifting progress and/or of your two-lift Olympic weightlifting. Choose whether or not you want to make your lift history publicly viewable or keep it private. Choose your best set of lifts (powerlifing and/or Olympic) to feature in the ranked lifts if you wish to see how you're faring against other members.

Administrators can be appointed (preferably moderators of the forum) to do stuff like set up the dates for future ISPL 'virtual' competitions. So far only two other members have registered to it, other than the ones who entered the competition in May, and only one of those (some old guy from NZ) has actually entered any lifting history.

]]>2159Sun, 23 Jun 2013 12:16:12 +0000Jackson Murriehttp://ironstrong.org/topic/2148-jackson-murrie/Many would remember Aussie poster Jackson Murrie who used to log here in the early days - he "dabbled" in a bit of strongman and powerlifting.

I just read where he posted a 340/190/295 @ 108.5kg at the GPC Australian Championships in Victoria over the weekend.